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How to Unlock the Potential of Individual Differences - StrongFirst

HOW TO UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF INDIVIDUAL

DIFFERENCES
By Craig Marker (http://www.strongfirst.com/author/cmarker/)

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COO, SFG II, SFL, SFB

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In the 1950s, medical research was primarily done on Caucasian males. It was thought it would be simpler to study only one group. But
in reality, race, culture, and gender all play a role in how we respond to medications. The study of individual differences in medicine is a
relatively recent development.
A special issue of the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)15326535) discussed pharmacoethnicity, which is how ethnicity affects how drugs are processed by the body. Even within ethnicities,
people process drugs differently. For example, genetic allele necessary to process antidepressants was less prevalent in Ethiopian (9%),
Tanzanian (17%), and Zimbabwean (34%) populations than other African populations.
Just as we might be nearing a future of personalized medicine, maybe we need to think of our training and diet
(http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/your-diet-is-not-normal-heres-why) in a more personalized manner, too. A personalized
training plan would play up to our unique strengths and address our individual weaknesses.

(http://www.strongfirst.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/individual-gobet-squats.jpg)

The Average Is Not So Average

Throughout my education, I wondered about individual differences. I saw treatments work well for some individuals but not so well for
others. I did a postdoctoral degree on the topic and worked to create specialized statistical tools to measure individual differences.
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Below is a graph of an intervention study. In this figure, the red line represents the average. We can see that it goes up over time.

(http://www.strongfirst.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Individual-Differences.jpg)
These results were published based on the assessment that it was a treatment that works (for the average person). But that red
average line was actually calculated from many individual lines (in black). For some people, the treatment was a resounding success,
indicated in the way their scores skyrocketed up. For others, the treatment had detrimental effects.
Imagine this treatment was instead a training program for elite athletes. Some people following this program would benefit greatly,
most would benefit a bit, and some would get weaker from following this protocol. So how do you know if a program is for you?

Your Training Should Not Be the Same As An Elite Athletes

In working with CrossFit athletes, I have found many people wanting to emulate Rich Froning
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Froning_Jr.) or Dmitry Klokov (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Klokov)s training. Both are
known for high training volume with heavy weights. The problem is that most of us are not in the same place as Froning or Klokov. Their
training background and years of experience prepared them for their current work.
We look up to elite athletes (Quadrant 4 (http://danjohn.net/2014/09/the-quadrants/) athletes in Dan Johns and Pavels Easy Strength
(http://www.strongfirst.com/books-by-pavel/)) and we may be drawn to emulate their training. But most elite athletes built a strong
foundation of skills at younger ages. According to Tracking Football (https://www.trackingfootball.com/blog/88-5-2016-nfl-draftpicks-played-multiple-sports-high-school/), 88.5% of the 2016 NFL draftees participated in a sport other than football during their high
school career. Building a base of strength and conditioning allowed them to be successful in their specialization.
Given all that, to get to the level of Froning, Klokov, or an NFL draftee, you might be better off following one of their earlier training
regimens as opposed to their current one. In short: unless you are already elite, dont train like elites.

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(http://www.strongfirst.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/individual-female-swing.jpg)

General Physical Preparedness Is Good Enough for Most

To determine the perfect individualized program for yourself, a great deal of work and experimentation needs to be done. With much
less trouble, you can get close to the same benefits by following a program that works well for most people.
Simple & Sinister (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989892409/ref=as_li_tl?
ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0989892409&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwstro0720&linkId=7e0f174789d1728aed75deb0edecbfb6) was written to assist most everyone in the general population. It blends strength,
conditioning, and mobility work that will benefit everyone from Navy SEALs to older individuals. It is the program I would give to both
my mom and someone training to prepare for the SFG Level I Certification (http://www.strongfirst.com/certifications/sfg-i-kettlebellinstructor-information/).
Think S&S isnt for you? Eric Frohardt, retired Navy SEAL and CEO of StrongFirst, chooses Simple & Sinister as his program to maintain
strength and endurance throughout the year.

Become a Student of Strength

To individualize your strength and training program, you must first become a student of strength. As Pavel has said, to get good at
programming, one must study programming (http://www.strongfirst.com/how-to-get-good-at-programming/). Just as a researcher
does a literature review to find out what is already known, you must do the same in learning about strength, conditioning, and mobility
programs.
Here are some great foundational articles to review:

Strength Programming
The Origins of StrongFirst Programming: The Soviet System (http://www.strongfirst.com/the-origins-of-strongfirstprogramming/)
Patience of Strength (http://www.strongfirst.com/patience-of-strength/)
Plan Strong for the Olympic Weightlifting Athlete (http://www.strongfirst.com/plan-strong-programming-empowers-theweightlifter/)

Endurance Programming
Simple and Sinister with Heart Rate Monitoring (http://www.strongfirst.com/simple-sinister-heart-rate-monitor/)
StrongFirst Roadwork (http://www.strongfirst.com/strongfirst-roadwork/)
Simple and Sinister Progression (http://www.strongfirst.com/simple-sinister-progression-tactic/)

Mobility Training
Miseducation of Stretching (http://www.strongfirst.com/the-miseducation-of-stretching/)
Revisiting Athletic Body in Balance (http://www.strongfirst.com/revisiting-athletic-body-in-balance/)
A Long Way to Press (http://www.strongfirst.com/a-long-way-to-press/)
A Speed Bump in the Get-Up (http://www.strongfirst.com/a-speed-bump-in-the-tgu/)
Taking Charge of Your Back Pain (http://www.strongfirst.com/empowering-self-advocacy-taking-charge-back-pain/)
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Be a Scientist of Strength
It is not enough to know about strength and conditioning, you must also act as a scientist and test everything. The Soviet scientists were
known to be meticulous keepers of training logs and programs. They would pour over research logs to find what worked and what didnt.
To find the best individualized program, you must do the same.
Here are some tips to follow in your testing:
Keep meticulous records. Record all possible outcomes, such as strength, perceived rate of exertion, diet, and mood. As a
researcher, I dont like subjective recording such as perceived rate of exertion. It is too difficult to compare across athletes.
However, in your own record keeping, you will know what an easy lift feels like compared to a more difficult lift.
Change only one variable at a time. When people attempt to make changes in their behaviors, they often make many changes
simultaneously. But with simultaneous changes, we have no way of knowing which worked and which didnt. The Whole 30
(http://whole30.com/step-two-finished/) is unique in that it is a nutrition protocol that requires a strict diet for thirty days,
followed by experimentation. The thirty days is to clean out the body from the previous effects of your diet. The experimentation
phase then allows you to test to see how individual foods affect your body when they are reintroduced. This type of
experimentation allows you to see what works one variable at a time.
Stick to the program long enough. As a student of strength, you will be tempted to try on program after program. Each new
program you learn about will seem to hold the secrets of strength for you. Be patient, finish your current program, and figure out
what worked and what didnt before you make changes.

Summary
As a researcher in individual differences, I suspect there is a perfect training program for you today and a different perfect training
program for you next year. To find that perfect program, you have to be both a student and scientist of strength. You must put in a
great deal of effort to learn and to test out programs.
But for most people, it would be bestand simplerto follow a general physical preparedness program. Simple & Sinister
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989892409/ref=as_li_tl?
ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0989892409&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwstro0720&linkId=7e0f174789d1728aed75deb0edecbfb6) is one of the best because we already know from the test of time that it works for
the majority of people.

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Craig Marker (http://www.strongfirst.com/author/cmarker/)

(http://www.strongfirst.com/author/cmarker/)

Craig Marker, Ph.D., COO, SFB, SFGII, CSCS, is a fitness

enthusiast who has spent his life trying to help people improve
their lives. As a professor, he works with students on how best
to understand research and place it into context. He has
published over fifty articles, chapters, and textbooks on
psychology and research methods.

As a researcher, he understands the cutting edge of strength, sports performance, body composition, and nutrition. As a psychologist,
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As a researcher, he understands the cutting edge of strength, sports performance, body composition, and nutrition. As a psychologist,
he has focused on research and treatment of anxiety disorders, which positions him to understand motivation and the fear of making
life changes.
Craigs upcoming book, the AntiFragile Self (http://antifragileself.com/), takes on the topic of building a stronger person in the mental
and physical domains.
As a certified StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor, Craig views kettlebells as one tool in the trade of forging a better person. He uses the
Functional Movement Screen and multiple corrective movements to make sure his students are performing at their best for the rest
of their lives.
Visit his intentional community (http://www.craigmarker.com/dan-johns-guide-building-intentional-community/) in Atlanta:
Armour Building (http://armourbuilding.com/).

PROGRAMMING (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/CATEGORY/PROGRAMMING/)
CROSSFIT (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/TAG/CROSSFIT/)

EXCELLENCE (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/TAG/EXCELLENCE/)

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WEIGHTLIFTING (HTTP://WWW.STRONGFIRST.COM/TAG/WEIGHTLIFTING/)

Upgrade Your Strength with the Soju and Tuba Press Program
(http://www.strongfirst.com/upgrade-your-strength-with-the-soju-andtuba-press-program/)

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